The Moon Guardian of the Fairies
by ultimate-drax
Summary: Ichigo Kurosaki is Fairy Tail's second strongest mage, who just returned from a one year quest, during the war between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord. Rated M for future lemon.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N. The following is a nonprofit fan based crossover. I don't owe Fairy Tail, Bleach or any other manga and anime. P.S. this is my first crossover as well as my first Fairy Tail fic. Enjoy.**

**Summary: Ichigo Kurosaki is Fairy Tail's second strongest mage, who just returned from a one year quest, during the war between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord. **

* * *

In the forest outside the city of Magnolia, a young man was making his way towards the guild known as Fairy Tail. The man had orange hair with brown eyes, wore a black kimono consisting of a thick strap across his chest. He has four black vertical lines on his forearms and black, tattoo-like bands crossing over his chest, wrists, and ankles. Similar bands, but with white ends, lie around his neck as collars. On his back rested a sword as long as his own body which resembled a giant Khyber Knife wrapped in white cloth to act as an impromptu sheath.

"Man it sure feels good to back home. I am beat," The man said. "First thing I'm gonna do is head over to the guild, give my report to the master, get a snack and then I'm gonna take a nice hot bath." Once he came to the clearing of the forest, Magnolia came into view. He smiled as he said, "I'm finally home." His expression went from happy to surprise when he saw smock coming from the coast of the town, where the guild is suppose to be. "Good god," He quickly towards the guild, fearing the lives of his comrades.

* * *

"Bisca, look out!" Alzack shouted and shot one of Jose's shades, who had tried to attack Bisca from behind.

"Thanks, Alzack." Bisca said then fired at three shades that were about the get the drop on Alzack. "Now we're even." She told her comrade with a sly grin.

Macao and Wakaba were back to back holding of shade with their magic.

"This doesn't look good." Macao says.

"There's just no end to these guys." Wakaba says.

As more shades were about to rain down upon the already exhausted mages, a loud cry could be heard "**Getsuga Tensho**!" followed by a light blue energy blast which shoved away the shades. The mages looked on in awe as the phantoms scattered and a man who Fairy Tail hadn't seen for a whole year landed in front of them. Every last one of them recognized his giant sword, the black kimono and, especially, his orange hair as he turned his head towards his fellow guild mates. "you guys look banged up." "ICHIGO!" Everyone shouted with new found hope. The man, who had now been revealed to be Ichigo, responded with an irritated tone. "What're you fools cheering about? We've got a battle on our hands here. We can have a happy reunion later." Everyone else was surprised about his burst but knew he was right and got serious once more. "Alright, could anyone please tell me what the hell is going on here?!"

Macao replied, "Long story short. Phantom Lord was hired by some rich guy to bring his daughter back who just so happens to be our newest member so now they started war with us."

"Geez, man." Ichigo sighed. "I leave home for a whole year and look what happens. And where is this girl they're after?"

"We've taken her to a safe place," Wakaba said. "But we've got another problem though. Mirajane tried to fool phantom lord by posing as Lucy but Jose saw through her disguise. He's taken her captive."

"What?" That seemed to have infuriated Ichigo greatly.

"Natsu, Happy, Gray and Elfman have already infiltrated their building." Wakaba said, pointing at the robotic like building that was out in the lake.

"So that's what that thing is." Ichigo said and turned his attention to the building and noticed it was currently casting a spell Ichigo didn't recognize. "What's it doing?"

"Natsu was able to destroy their Jupiter Cannon so now Jose as resorted to use Abyss Break." Macao said.

"He is aware that spell is forbidden, right?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't think he cares any longer." Cana said.

"Where's the master, Erza, Mystogan and Laxus?"

"Both Erza and the master are out of commission." Wakaba replied, shocking Ichigo. "Mystogan is nowhere to be found and Laxus … let's just say we're on our own."

"They took out Erza and … gramps," Ichigo replied unable to believe they of all people could be defeated. Ichigo surprise turned into fury as he emitted a magical aura of pure rage. "They dared hurt my precious nakama? I won't let them get away with this." He turned his head back towards his guild mates. "I know you guys are exhausted but can you hold the lines while I lend Natsu and the others a hand?"

"You can count on us, Ichigo." Cana replied with a confidence smile.

"Alright. Protect this guild." Ichigo said before jumping into the air.

* * *

Back in the robotic guild, Jose had witnessed Ichigo's return via lacrima vision.

"Huh, I never would have predicted that Ichigo would return now of all times." The guild master said, stroking his chin. "It doesn't matter, though. He will perish along with the rest of these trashes. Weaklings, die!"

* * *

Outside building, Mirajane, who had been rescued by Elfman, stood alongside her younger brother as José fired an even larger volley shades towards the beachhead.

"W-what's going on?" Elfman asked.

"José seems angrier than before," Mirajane said, concerned for her nakama.

The shades made a b-line towards Ichigo. The Fairy Tail mage flew right into them without even slowing down. He shoved each one of them at every direction with the pulse of the light blue magic aura he emitted from his body.

"What!" José cried in disbelief at what he saw on lacrima screen.

"This magic power," Elfman said, recognizing the awesome power heading their way.

"It's…it can only be one person," Mirajane said. Ichigo cleared away the last of the shades as he hovered above the siblings on the robotic arm. The white haired mage's eyes started to fill up with tears of joy when her assumptions were confirmed. "I-Ichigo."

"Ichigo! You're back!" Elfman yelled with relief.

"Get away from there!" Ichigo yelled, surprising the two of them. "I'm bringing this thing down!" realizing what Ichigo was planning to do Elfman nodded, turned into his beast soul, grabbed his sister and jumped of the robotic arm. 'Elfman has gain control over his beast soul? I'll have to congratulate him later.' Ichigo thought, and raised his giant sword above his head as he turned at the arm that was circling around to perform the Abyss Break spell. "No you won't. **Getsuga Tensho**!" He cried and fired a wave of light blue energy at the arm, one even bigger than the one he used on the shades earlier, slicing the arm in half, breaking the spell. He swung his sword backwards and released another wave chopping the other arm of as well. Mirajane and Elfman watched the whole thing in awe at the incredible power Ichigo was demonstrating.

"Amazing. Ichigo is truly a man." Elfman said.

"Somehow he seems even stronger now than he was a year ago." Mirajane remarked. Ichigo landed in front of the siblings, placing his sword on his back, automatically rewrapping its cloth around it.

"Abyss Break is no longer a threat. But it's still not over." Ichigo said with high authority. "We still have to defeat Element 4, Gajeel and José."

"I've already defeated Sol and Natsu has beaten Totomaru," Elfman stated.

"Nicely done." Ichigo said, walking past the two. "I trust everybody can take care of the rest while I pay this José bastard a beating."

"I-Ichigo," Elfman stuttered. "You mustn't. Not on your own."

"I agree with Elfman. There is no denying how strong you are Ichigo but José is one of the 10 Wizard Saints who is evenly matched with the master." Mirajane warned, concerned for her friend.

Ichigo ignored Mirajane's words and said. "Elfman, take Mira and get the hell of this thing."

Mirajane continued to object. "You can't fight him alone."

"Mira," Ichigo said in a tone which caught Mirajane of by surprise. "You still can't fight, can you?" He asked, silencing the white haired mage. Ichigo waited for a response but it never came. "My point exactly." Mirajane looked down on the floor, in shame. "Elfman, Natsu and Gray can fight. I know they can handle themselves in a fight. But I can't fight if I have to worry about you." That statement got Mirajane to raise her head and stared at the back at her orange haired comrade. "I've lost too many friends. I cannot lose you too. With or without your blessing I'm going to fight José but if you're in harm's way I cannot concentrate on the battle." Mirajane finally gave up and, reluctantly, agreed with his demands knowing full well how right he was. "Don't think for one moment that I'm risking my life on this fight." He assured Mirajane, using the same words an old friend of his once used on him. "This is a fight to survive. Things like protecting the world are no more than moral causes that sound good. I will keep myself alive, keep you alive, and fight to protect all others from José's hands." He said before vanishing in a flash leaving a stunned Mirajane.

Elfman said. "Nee-chan, we should do as he says. Come on. You know what happens when he fight seriously."

Mirajane snapped out of her trance before replying. "You're right. We'll only get in Ichigo's way." 'Be safe, Ichigo.' Was her final thought before leaving with her younger brother.

* * *

To say José was upset over this sudden change of development was an understatement. He was downright furious. He was gritting his teeth so hard they were almost cracking.

"Makarov," He hissed as he emitted a dangerous magic aura from his body, scaring the few guild members in the room with him. "To think you had someone like this in your guild. That's unforgivable. No matter. He'll never defeat me." He formed a sadistic grin on his face and said. "Just come on and get it, worthless Shinigami mage."

* * *

Somewhere inside the building, Ichigo was running down a hallway, tossing aside any minor Phantom Lord mage who got in his way like a bunch of salads. He looked outside the windows and noticed it had started to rain.

"What the…? The weather was clear when I got here." He stopped when he sensed a familiar magic. "It's Gray. He has engaged one of the Element 4 in battle. The one that uses water no doubt. His magic will be useful against someone like that." Use used his ability to sense magic to try and locate the others. "I sense an immense magic power at the center of this building. That's gotta be José. I also sense Natsu has engaged another member of Element 4." His eyes widen. "And he's on the receiving end."

* * *

True to Ichigo's words, Natsu was indeed fighting a losing battle. The man before him was indeed the strongest of the Element 4. He was Aria The Great Sky. He is an extremely tall and massive man with tanned skin. His limbs are quite small and especially thin in comparison to the large mass of his body. Aria's massive upper body is covered by a large, loose green coat sporting white edges. Aria's outfit is completed by a top hat sitting on his head, matching his coat in color. His most notable feature is his simple thin blindfold.

"Well done holding out so far, Salamander." The large man complimented the panting pink haired dragon slayer.

"I'm all fired up now," Natsu said with high confidence.

"**Airspace**," Aria extended his left arm, his palm wide open. "**Zetsu,**" He said and fired a series of Airspace at Natsu, exploding on contact, generating small yet powerful blast, damaging Natsu even further. Natsu went down on one knee, glaring at his opponent.

'He's too strong,' Happy thought. 'This is the strongest man in Element 4.' Happy was on the verge of shedding tears at the sight of his best friend nearly defeated.

"Damn it," Natsu cursed.

"There is always someone stronger, young dragon." Aria told Natsu.

"What about this?" Natsu put his hands before his mouth, in a pose resembling that of a trumpeter. "Fire Dragons Roar!" He cried, unleashing a large quantity of flames from his mouth at his opponent. Aria vanished before the flames could hit, though. "Where'd he go?" Natsu looked around himself for any sign of Aria's presence.

"It's over, Salamander." Aria's voice rang in the room. "I shall let you experience the same suffering as Makarov." Aria reappeared behind Natsu, placing his hands before him, their open palms facing each other, and then moves them towards his target. "Metsu." This envelops Natsu in an airspace, which completely drains his Magic.

"This same attack was used to take down Master." Happy cried.

Natsu could do nothing but cry out in agony as his magic left his body. "How sad," Aria cried, as tears streamed down his cheeks. "No matter whom the mage is, within this Airspace their magic power will be reduced to nothingness."

"My power…" Natsu chocked out. "…is being drained."

"Natsu!" Happy cried for his lifelong friend.

But before all of Natsu's magic could be drained, a flash of black and orange flew across the room, crashing into the much larger mage, sending him flying into the walls. Happy just stood still with his eyes wide open and mouth hanging while Natsu regained his composure as he tried to comprehend what just happened. His eyes shout wide open at the sight of the orange haired mage before him.

"This man dared harm our father?" Ichigo growled.

"I-Ichigo!" Natsu spoke in astonishment.

Happy jumped up and down, crying happily. "Ichigo! You're back!"

"How sad," Everyone's attention went back to the man who was coming out of the ruble. "To think that I would have to fight not only Salamander but the Moon Guardian as well, Ichigo Kurosaki."

"No way," Happy said, surprised to see the Element 4 back on his feet. "Even after taking a direct hit from Ichigo he is still getting up.

"Against the Moon Guardian," Aria grabbed hold of his blindfold. "Even I have to fight seriously." He yanked the blind fold of and suddenly his magic power increased immensely. Natsu and Happy was caught off guard by this sudden increase of power while Ichigo just remained cool, his expression as serious as ever.

'His eyes,' Ichigo thought. 'Aria usually keeps his eyes closed. Apparently, keeping his eyes closed is the only way for him to keep his vast powers under control. If you fight this guy, defeat him before he can remove his blindfold. Otherwise you may lose any chance of victory …or so I've been told.'

"Come, Moon Guardian." Aria dared. The air around him whirlwinds inwardly around Aria until it completely covered him. "Activate, Airspace of death, Zero. This Airspace consumes all life within it." Aria unleashed a massive wave of air, causing Natsu to back away a little. Ichigo however remained unfazed by its power.

"Magic that consumes life?" Ichigo hissed. He then toke a firm grip on his sword. "How?" He drew his sword and held it horizontally at his opponent. "How can you take people's lives so carelessly? Bastard! I won't forgive you."

"Now, let us enjoy this." Aria said, ignoring Ichigo's preaching while the latter of whom was raising his sword. "Can you endure this Airspace?" Aria asked then faced his open palms towards his target, releasing golden speckles in that direction. Ichigo swung his sword, unleashing a wave with such force it cut through Aria's attack like it was nothing and made an impact on the air using wizard, sending him back into the wall with an even greater force than before.

"The master could never had lost to the likes of you." Ichigo stated, re-sheathing his sword. "The tales of your glory ends here."

"H-how sad," Aria comically said before passing out.

"I have forgotten how strong Ichigo is." Happy said.

"Sure, but that Getsuga was weak compared to the ones I've seen before." Natsu stated.

"You're wrong, Natsu." Ichigo said. "That wasn't a Getsuga Tensho. It was just the wind pressure from the swing of my sword."

Natsu and Happy turned pale at this statement. 'He really is a monster.' They thought in unison. Suddenly the whole building started to crumble.

"W-what's happening?" A panicked Happy asked.

"Gray seems to have defeated Juvia of the Sea. Then that means all of Element 4 has been beaten. It was their magic that was powering this thing. Without them this whole place will fall to the ground." Ichigo explained. "Then that means the only ones still standing are José and Gajeel. Once they're defeated this war will be over."

"Alright," Natsu said, his hands being engulfed by flames. "I'm all fired up."

* * *

If there was anything that could have made José even angrier it was this.

"Unbelievable," The Mage Saint growled. "Element 4 were beaten by those Fairy Tail trash?"

"Those who are beaten by trash are trash as well."

"Oh, so you've returned, Gajeel-san?"

"And here's a souvenir, master." The metal dragon slayer known as Gajeel Redfox, entered to room and dropped a badly beaten Lucy Heartfilia on the ground.

"That was fast. But you did well finding her, Gajeel-san." José complimented.

"Don't underestimate the nose of a dragon slayer." Gajeel said.

"Is she still alive?" José asked. "It's meaningless if she isn't."

"I was pretty rough with her," Gajeel said thoughtfully. "Let's see!" and kicked Lucy sending her smashing into the wall. The Stellar mage let out a painful grunt. Gajeel let out a chuckle. "Seems like she's alive."

"I'd expect nothing less from the strongest mage in my guild." José said with please.

* * *

Ichigo and Natsu were running down a hallway when suddenly José's voice rang in the loudspeakers. "Attention, Fairy Tail. Please listen carefully to this voice." Both mages stopped to listen to what the evil man had to say

"Who is that?" Ichigo asked.

"Its master José," Happy replied. Lucy could be heard screaming in pain through the speakers from Gajeel pulling her hair. "It's Lucy!"

"No way. They caught her!" A furious Natsu cried.

"We've capture Lucy. So we have accomplished one of our objectives." José stated. "We now have one more objective to complete. That would be the annihilation of all of you! Worthless brats!"

"Bastard," Natsu hissed.

* * *

Back outside, the battle against the shades was taking a new turn.

"Somehow the number of shades has increased," One of Fairy Tail's members said.

"Give us a break," Wakaba sighed. "There's still more of them?"

While the war outside wage on, Master José gave Gajeel a new order. "Guard Lucy." He said as he headed towards the exit. "There are insects inside our guild."

"Salamander too?" Gajeel asked.

"Yes. However, I will show them that there are no miracles." José said, releasing an evil aura. "I will obliterate them myself!"

* * *

"Damn it. Lucy's been…" Natsu hissed. Ichigo, who had been quiet this whole time, finally spoke.

"Natsu, José is on his way here. I can feel it. I will remain here and face him alone. In the meantime I have job for you." He said, catching Natsu's full attention. There was a pregnant silence before Ichigo started. "You're power, unleash it. There is a power lying dormant within you. Believe in yourself. Break through. Call forth your power. Now is the time." Ichigo paused for a sec, letting his words sink into Natsu. "I don't know who this Lucy is…only that she's a member of Fairy Tail. That makes her a member of this family. Protect her … and this guild." Ichigo turned to face Natsu. "Go Natsu! You're the man who's going to surpass all of us!" He cried. Spurred by Ichigo's speech, Natsu begins to fire up, more than ever before.

* * *

Somewhere in the woods, outside of Magnolia, in the house of Porlyusica, a seemingly recovered Makarov Dreyar was awakening, as if he had heard Natsu's roar.

"Natsu…Ichigo," The elderly Guild Master said, noting both mages.

"Makarov. How do you feel?" Porlyusica asked. Ignoring his long time friend, Makarov sat up. "You should rest more."

"You think I'll listen to you?" Makarov said while getting out of the bed and went for his attire.

"At your age, don't you think you need more time to recover?" The pink haired healer asked.

"You needn't remind me," Makarov told her while putting on his long sleeved coat.

"You don't have to march to your death. Haven't you noticed? Ichigo has returned."

"I know." Makarov simply replied.

"And you're still going?" Porlyusica asked, with a hint of concern in her voice.

Makarov stood by the door and replied. "I am simply fulfilling my duty as a parent. Sorry for all the trouble." He said before exiting the house. Porlyusica looked at a photograph of her and Makarov as young, along with a few others, with the year X736 written on it.

"Good grief," She sighed. "Nothing has changed."

* * *

Back at Phantom Lord, Ichigo was sitting crossed legged all by himself in the middle of a room with his eyes closed. The room suddenly become dank and was filled with a dark mist. Ichigo opened his eyes. There was malice in the air. He noted this as the presence of death. He could hear a pair of hands clapping at other end of the room. There stood the man he had been waiting for.

"My, my. I must praise you, Fairy Tail mage. I never thought I'd enjoy it this much. You single handedly destroyed Abyss Break, defeated the strongest member of Element 4 and even brought my giant to its knees."

"This high leveled magic power. You must be Master José." Ichigo said and stood up.

"And you are Fairy Tail's moon guardian and, supposedly, the sole survivor of the winter war of Karakura, Ichigo Kurosaki." José said. "I did not predict this turn of event. Well it doesn't matter. Whether it's you or Makarov it won't change your guild's fate, or its members."

"Cut the chatter already," Ichigo told the guild master as he drew his sword. "I didn't come here to listen to your preaching. I'm here to pay you back for what you've done to the guild and its family in Makarov-ojisan's place." Ichigo's magical aura started to flare as he pointed his sword at José.

"Huh? Straight down to business. You young'uns are always in such a rush." José said, slightly amused while at the same time firing up his magic aura. "Come on then, Moon Guardian." The tone in his voice became malicious. "I'll show you what happens when you challenge to master of the strongest guild in Fiore!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Gajeel is passing time by picking on a defenseless Lucy, smashing her into a wall.

"That didn't sound too good," The wicket man said. Lucy was winching in pain. "But she sure doesn't put up much of a fight."

"Gajeel. S-stop it, already." One of his guild mates said. "Keep doing that and it'll seriously get bad."

"But I'm bored," Gajeel said. "Master sure is terrible. Making me babysit a girl like this…" He raised his and formed it into steel rod. "…and going off to swat the flies himself." He walked over to Lucy. "What's wrong with playing around a little to pass time?"

"Stop it." The other mage said. "Keep it up and master won't let you of easy." Gajeel lost his patience and extended the rod towards his guild mate's face, slamming him into the wall.

"Shut up," Gajeel told him. "It doesn't matter if she's a rich girl somewhere. To me she's just a Fairy Butt trash. And even if she's a woman, that doesn't change the fact that she's a mage. She should have prepared for the worst when she joined a guild."

"Regardless, you're going overboard." A black skinned mage said. "What a waste."

"Master will be pissed big time." A girl mage said.

"When that happens, I'll just blame it on you guys." Gajeel said and laughed, causing his guild mates to sweat drop. "Even so, this is pathetic." He said while turning his attention back to the blonde on the ground. "Now that they know she's rich, those butts are desperately trying to get her back."

Lucy surprised Gajeel when she smiled mockingly at him.

"You guys are complete idiots! I feel so sorry for you I think I'm tearing up. Phantom Lord? The spirit ruler? What a joke. I'm not afraid of you at all!"

Gajeel responded to her provoking by hitting her in the gut with a steel rod, pinning her to the wall.

"You've got guts trying to brag in a situation like this. I like people who are like that." He said and withdrew his rod. "But you know, I don't want your tenacity. I want your scream. If you don't start screaming I'll be really annoyed."

"Then why don't you try killing me?" Lucy dared, still retaining her mock smirk. "If you do that, you'll be in bigger trouble than this! Fairy Tail will never forgive you! That's the kind of guild we are. You'll be shivering under that shadow of the world's scariest guild every day for the rest of your life!"

"Sounds interesting," Gajeel said with amusement in his voice. He formed his hands into a pair of steel rods. "Let's try that theory out." He leapt into the air, aiming to deliver the finishing blow. His guild mates tried to stop him but he was without reason. Lucy just looked at her tormentor advancing on her, waiting for the end. The ground beneath them, however, started to crack and a pillar of fire emerged from the floor, followed by a furious pink haired dragon slayer who slammed his fist into Gajeel's face, sending him backing. Gajeel landed smoothly back on the floor and rubbed his sore cheek. "I knew it. I noticed your scent." He said with a gleeful smirk. Lucy smiled with relief at the sight of her friend.

"Salamander," She said.

"GAJEEL!" Natsu roared, engulfing the room with his fire.

* * *

**Please review if you would like some more please.**


	2. Ichigo VS Jose

**A.N. Okay, first of all, I just wanna say thank you all for these kind reviews. You've really given me the will to keep going with this story. Now to answer some questions.**

**Arrankor: That all depends on what Hiro Mashima will write in the Manga in the future.**

**ChrisZilla18: Read this chapter and find out.**

**ultima-owner: Doing it epicly is the only way he knows how to do it.**

**ACSkywalker: I'll let that be a surprise. But if you want, I'll send you a private message.**

* * *

Ichigo disappeared before José's eyes and reappeared right in front of him and swung his sword at his throat. José caught the blade with his bare hand.

"**Shunpo**, huh?" José said and unleashed a wave of magic energy from the palm of his hand, sending Ichigo backing. "I've heard of this special technique, which is one of the four combat skills of the Shinigami. This technique in particular allows the user to move faster than the eye could follow. This method is best characterized by how fast one can move from point A to point B in the least amounts of steps."

"So you know a little bit of Shinigami powers?" Ichigo said, raising his right hand, pointing his index and middle finger upwards. "Let's see if you recognize this. **Hado 4, Byakurai**." Ichigo cried and fired a concentrated bolt of lightning from his index finger at José, the latter of whom deflected with his bare hands.

"**Kido**, the Demon Arts of the Shinigami. I've heard all kinds of nasty things about Kido in particular. And I hope that was not all you've got." José hissed and fired dark beams from his finger tips as if they were bullets. Ichigo blocked them with his sword.

'Damn! He really is strong. I can see how he is considered Makarov-ojisan's equal. Well, the title Wizard Saints isn't just for show.' He thought while panting heavily.

"Do you know why I let Makarov live?" José asked. "…Despair." Ichigo swung his sword and unleashed a Getsuga Tensho, which José easily blocked his magic. "It was to put him through despair. When he wakes up and see's his beloved guild and comrades annihilated, he will be heartbroken. I will wreak that man with despair and grief. He will not have it easy. He will suffer and suffer …until he rots away."

"Why?" Ichigo hissed. "Why do you want to cause Makarov-ojisan to suffer so badly? That man has never harmed anyone! What'd he ever do to you?!"

"I'll gladly tell you before I kill you," José replied. "Phantom Lord was always the nr one guild in Fiore. We had the most talented mage, the best magic and most fund in the country. But over the past few years, Fairy Tail has grown radically strong. Ichigo, Erza, Mystogan, Laxus, Gildarts … those names reached our city, and rumors of Salamander have spread throughout the country. And before we knew it, both Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail had become the two exemplary guilds of this country. How sickening. Especially since it was originally a weak shitty guild."

"Oh, is that right?" Ichigo asked, tightening his grip on his sword. "So in other words, you were just worried about your guild's title as Fiore's number one guild? Well you can have it! We are our own guild. No one in Fairy Tail cares about some meaningless title."

"Meaningless, you say?" José started to get irritated. "I'll show you meaningless." He fired purple wave of energy, not intended for Ichigo but for the wall next to them. "Have a look outside."José said, making Ichigo look out through the hole on the wall. What he saw broke his heart. Fairy Tail's guild was crumbling to ruins by José's shades. He watched as the one place he could call home after his old one destroyed, being reduced to ashes. He watched as his friends were shedding tears over their destroyed guild. "Your guild is nothing but a pile of ruble now. For you trash to continue this fight is meaningless. Why won't you just give up and accept your faith like a good guild? There is no future left for you now. Only death." José taunted and fired another wave of purple energy at Ichigo. "**Deadwave**." The young Shinigami Mage only stood there with his head hanging, thinking back to when he first came to the guild.

* * *

_Flashback_

Magnolia, X779, five years in the past.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail." A man said to a slightly younger Ichigo.

"This is a …guild mage building?" Ichigo asked with amazement.

"Yeah. This is Fairy Tail." The man said.

"Fairy Tail?" Ichigo asked, confused about the name.

"Do fairies have tails? Do they even exist? Like them, this place is an eternal mystery. A never ending adventure. That is the true meaning of Fairy Tail." The man said.

"I don't quit get it, but it seems pretty neat." Ichigo replied.

* * *

Ichigo spent most of his time by himself the first few weeks in Fairy Tail. He had a lot on his mind at the time. What, with him having just recently lost his home and found a new one in such a short time. He clearly needed time to adjust to his new life in Fiore. Ichigo took on many jobs at the time to ease his mind. He did them mostly by himself, and he completed them all flawlessly and he was already starting to become a star in the guild. One day, Erza returned after being gone for a few weeks on an S-Class quest. Ichigo's reputation had reached her pretty quickly and she approached him.

"Hey there," A younger Erza Scarlet said to Ichigo. "You're the new guy, right?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo nervously, but politely replied.

"And I'm Erza Scarlet. Welcome Fairy Tail Ichigo." Erza politely replied. "I heard you are a Shinigami Mage." Ichigo nodded in confirmation. "Then that must means you are skilled with the blade. Show me."

"No thanks. I'll pass." Ichigo solemnly said, waving her of.

"Smart move there," Wakaba said.

"What a gloomy kid." Macao said.

"Can you blame him?" Wakaba asked. "He just recently lost his homeland, his friends and family. I'd feel pretty down myself."

"What're you babbling about? You're pathetic." A younger Mirajane said. This Mira was wearing a gothic, more overly revealing outfit, befitting her tomboy personality. "He obviously just felt how weak Erza is and didn't wanna waste his time."

"What was that, ya bony hag?" Erza asked, slamming her forehead into Mira's.

"You heard me," Mirajane growled, flaring her battle aura. And with that both she and Erza engaged in another brawl.

"And Erza tells Natsu and I to never to fight," A young Gray sighed.

* * *

A few days later, an angry Mirajane was seen walking alone in the woods, complaining about her upcoming mission.

"God damn it! Why do I have to team up with that fat ass Erza?" She asked no in particular. "I don't care what master says. I can take on a battalion of goblins myself. And I sure as hell don't need that dumb bitch for that." She growled some words that didn't make sense until she came upon a lake and spotted someone sitting on rock at the shore with his back facing Mira. It was Ichigo. He had his head hanging and was trembling. It looked like he was …crying? She walked over to him, quietly, with a sympathetic look on her face. "Ichigo?" Said Shinigami mage looked to his left and quickly turned away, embarrassed over that someone had seen him.

"Mira? Sorry, I really didn't want anybody to see me like this." He said while drying of his tear. "I must look quit pathetic."

"Don't worry about it," Mira said, crossing her arms. "I know what it's like. Elfman, Lisanna and I lost our parents at a young age." She looked away from Ichigo, with a sad expression on her face. "Most people in Fairy Tail have lost someone close to them. Losing those you love is hard. And there's nothing anybody can say or do to make it feel better. It's gonna take time. That's all it'll take." Mira walked over to Ichigo and sat right next him. "But you don't have to go through this on your own. You are a part of Fairy Tail now. We share our laughter as well as our sadness. Don't keep those feelings for yourself. Share them with your nakama. A guild without that is no guild at all. Just an empty shell." Ichigo absorbed all the thing the girl next to him had told him. This Mira was completely different from the one he had gotten to know in the month he had been a member of Fairy Tail. She was not at all as the hot headed tomboy he was led to believe she was. Now she was actually kind of … cute. Until she punched Ichigo in the arm. "Don't tell anyone of what I said."

"I won't. I swear." Ichigo said, rubbing his sore arm.

"Look," Mira said, standing back up. "Tomorrow master is sending Erza and I on a mission to rid some goblins who has been terrorizing some small towns in the Nori Mountains, **(A.N. I came up with that name myself. It's not part of the Fairy Tail universe) **you ought to come with us to help ease your mind."

"You and Erza? That's unheard of." Ichigo said.

"Do you want to come or not?!" Mira asked, annoyed.

"Sure, why not." Ichigo replied.

* * *

The next day, Erza and Mirajane was fighting a large muscular goblin, with an army of smaller goblins standing in the background. The two girls were bruised and panting heavily while the huge goblin hasn't even been scratched yet.

"Damn," Mirajane cursed. "This goblin king is tougher than I thought."

"What's the matter?" The goblin king taunted. "Out of breathe?"

Mirajane turned into her Satan Soul and charged the goblin king, who blocked the attack with his giant hammer and sent Mira backing with a wave of dark energy from his weapon. Erza appeared above the distracted goblin king, wearing her heaven's wheel armor and fired her Blumenblatt at him. The goblin king however showed remarkable speed when he quickly turned and blocked the attack by spinning his hammer around.

"Is that it?" The goblin king laughed and fired an energy wave from his hammer at Erza, sending her flying several feet away. The other goblins cheered wildly at their leader's easy going battle. "So this is the strength of Fairy Tail wizards?" He asked, turning his attention back to Mirajane. "What a joke. With my magic hammer I'm invincible." He bragged arrogantly, while walking over to the takeover mage. "Do you know what the color of your brain is?" He asked, towering over the exhausted white head. "Cause I do!" He said, raising his hammer. Mirajane shut her eyes tight, not wanting the see death. However, it never came. She opened her eyes and saw her orange haired comrade standing between her and the goblin king, holding back the hammer. And it looked like he wasn't even putting any effort in blocking the attack.

"Picking on a helpless girl? You oughta be ashamed." Ichigo said.

"Who're you?" The goblin king demanded.

"Me? …no one in particular." Ichigo replied and pushed the goblin king back. "Sorry I'm late, Mira, Erza. It toke me a while to dig out of that ravine. I was buried deeper than I thought."

"More meat to the grinder, eh?" The goblin king snickered. "Well, let's see you try and block my attacks when I use full power!" He shouted and flared up with dark battle aura, charging Ichigo with all his might. The goblin king swung his hammer with remarkable speed, considering its size, while Ichigo dodge it. Erza and Mira watched awe as Ichigo dodged each blow gracefully and effortlessly. "You can't dodge me forever! I'll eventually wear you down! And when I do…" The goblin king didn't get to finish as Ichigo cut him off with an elbow to the gut.

"You'll do what?" Ichigo asked the pained goblin king who coughed up blood. "I'm sorry. I can't hear you over your bitching." He taunted as the goblin king dropped his hammer and grabbed hold of his belly and fell, hitting his face first and his ass sticking up into the air. Ichigo turned his attention to the goblin hordes. "The rest of ya, go back to your caves and never return." The goblins growled angrily at the Shinigami and charged at him. Ichigo sighed. "Geez, they always have to do it the hard way. Well, it wouldn't be fun if they didn't." He said and drew his sword. He slowly raised it above his head and waited for the hordes to come closer. Just as one of them were about to take a swing at Ichigo's head, said Shinigami brought his sword down, unleashing a huge Getsuga Tensho, sending goblins flying everywhere and chopping a piece of the mountain away. Mirajane and Erza were lost for words to say the least. They couldn't believe how strong Ichigo was. Erza would never admit it but she was glad Ichigo had declined her challenge from before. The remaining goblins looked at Ichigo in absolute horror. They had never seen a mage of this caliber before. "For the record, that was just a warning shot. Next time I'll obliterate every last fucking one of you. Now beat it!" He barked and the goblins fled in terror, fleeing back into their cave. Erza and Mirajane's eyes were wide as saucers. They looked like they had just seen a god.

"Erza, are we still awake?" Mira asked.

"I'm not so sure," Erza replied.

"Alright you guys," Ichigo said, re-sheathing his sword. "Let's collect our reward and head back to the guild." He said as if nothing had happened, walking past the two girls who were still staring at him in awe.

"That's another monster to add to the guild's list," Mirajane whispered. Erza nodded.

* * *

A few months later, the same man who had brought Ichigo to Fairy Tail was talking to Ichigo.

"I heard you've been nominated for the S-Class exam. You should feel honored. Not many first year members get nominated." He said. "To bad I won't be here to see it. Well, I'm confident you'll pass."

"Thanks," Ichigo said, giving the man a small smile.

"I'll see ya when I get back," The man said, heading towards the guild exit. "By then you better be an S-Class."

"You bet," Ichigo replied, with a confident smile.

A few days later, most of the guild members were congratulating Ichigo on becoming an S-Class. Natsu congratulated him by challenging him to a fight. Ichigo toke him down with one blow.

* * *

_End of flashback_

Ichigo raised his head and chanted. "**Bakudo nr 81, Danku**!" A translucent in the form of a rectangular wall toke shape in front of Ichigo and blocked José's attack easily.

"Oh. A level 80 binding spell without the incantation?" José said. "I've heard only the most skill of Shinigamis are able to perform such impressive feats so effortlessly. To think a mage like you would be in Makarov's or anyone else's guild and not mine … is unacceptable." He hissed the last part with venom.

"As a protector of this guild, I can't be allowed to take a beating like this." Ichigo said and pointed his sword forward and placed his left hand on his right wrist. "I should have known better than to fight you with only my **Shikai**. That part of me never changes. Allow me to show you the true power of a former captain of the Gotei 13. **Bankai**!" Ichigo was engulfed in black energy, followed by a pulse which crumbled the room. Ichigo emerged, donning a new outfit. He wears a white undershirt beneath a black shihakushō, which is open. Held together by three x-shaped marks, it ends in a number of coattails. Ichigo wears black gloves with white x-shaped marks appear on both the gloves and his forearms. His sword's appearance had changed radically. It was still as long as before but thinner, like a daito and becomes more curved at the tip, with three protrusions along the blunt end of the sword close to its tip. It has a manji-like shape and the tsuba is curved and jagged. Instead of the cloth his Shikai form had, a long length of chain dangles from the base of the hilt, attaching to Ichigo's glove, forming a wide loop. "**Tensa Zangetsu**."

"A Bankai? The final stage of a Zanpakuto which will increase a Shinigami's power by five to ten times." José laughed. "Still not so impressive. That small weapon can't be a Bankai. It looks like a regular Zanpakuto." The evil man became irritated. "I see. What it comes to is that you like to step upon my pride. I'll show you what happens to those who think it's a good idea to insult my honor." José started to form purple ghostly creatures, which made a chilling cackle, and sent them at Ichigo. In just a split second, said Shinigami was right in front of José, pointing the tip of his blade to the Phantom Lord's master's throat. José, with a shocked expression, looked down at Ichigo.

"You wanna talk about pride?" Ichigo asked. "You're so called honor demands that you kill my nakama over some pointless jealousy. Well if that's the kind of honor you're talking about then you can bet your ass I'm gonna mess with it." Ichigo said, while retracting his sword and jumped several feet back. "That's the reason why I'm here, Master José."

'For a split second there, I lost sight of him completely.' José thought. 'Impossible.'

* * *

As for Natsu and Gajeel, their battle was reaching a conclusion. The whole room was in rubles and a huge section of the wall had been blown up, revealing Fairy Tail's destroyed guild. Natsu was engulfed in hellish flames and growled in fury.

"I'll pay you back for everything you've done. Laying your hands on Fairy Tail was a big mistake." He said.

Gajeel roared. "Who do you think I am? You trash!" He cried, leaping into the air. "Iron Dragon's hard Fist!" Both dragon slayer's fists collided. Gajeel's iron scales started to crack. The iron dragon slayer couldn't believe what was happening. "I-I am…the strongest."

"This is the end! **Crimson Lotus Fire Dragon Fist**!" Natsu ignites his fists with large, light spheres and then charges at Gajeel, hitting him with a continuous barrage of punches enhanced with his Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. "For Levy, Jet, Droy, Nab, Macao, Gramps, Erza…" He put in extra force in his last punch, sending Gajeel flying. "…and Lucy!" The iron dragon slayer landed several feet away and Natsu fired up some more, letting out a roar. "And this is for our destroyed guild!" He struck Gajeel with all that was left of his magic, resulting in a huge explosion, destroying the giant robotic guild in the process.

* * *

Back with Ichigo and José, the rum they were fighting in was shaking and rocks were raining down from ceiling.

"Such excessively violent dragons," The guild master said.

"Seems like you didn't take Natsu's power seriously," Ichigo said. "That kid will someday be more powerful than either of us."

"Stop the modesty, Moon Guardian of the Fairies. Tell me something. Why did you pull your sword away from my throat?" José asked. Ichigo didn't reply. "Not going to answer me? That kind of arrogance will be your downfall! You're going to regret not slitting my throat when you had the chance. Miracles only happen once!" He cried and sent more ghosts like creatures at Ichigo. The orange haired Shinigami disappeared from sight and reappeared behind José, who soon caught sight of him and sent more ghosts at him. Ichigo quickly dodged them and Shunpo in front of José, with his sword above his head and brought it down upon his enemy. José quickly reacted and blocked the attack with purple magic energy. Ichigo disappeared once more and reappeared on José's left side. 'What is with this ridiculous speed?' José thought. 'I can barely keep up with him.' He thought while trying to catch Ichigo with his magic. All of a sudden, Ichigo started creating dozens of afterimages of himself with his Shunpo.

"What's the matter?" Ichigo asked. "Am I moving to slow for you? Just say so. I can move a little bit faster if you like."

"Oh, really? Then let's see if you're fast enough to dodge this," José hissed. "Dead Wave!" This attack was larger than the last Dead Wave. It fired from every direction of José's body and the whole room was destroyed in its wake. José waited for the dust to clear and saw that the Shinigami was nowhere in sight. "Huh. Looks like I overdid it. Guess he was nothing but talk." José bragged, feeling proud over his victory.

"A miracle only happens once, right?" A familiar voice said. Behind José stood Ichigo, alive and unhurt, with his Zanpakuto resting on his shoulder. "Then what do you call this?" The surprised guild master quickly turned around and grabbed the Ichigo's blade, which almost impaled him.

"Now I see…the true power of your Bankai. You take all the power of your Bankai, compresses it into a small, condensed form, and uses the power of the Bankai to perform high-speed combat." José concluded. "I have to admit, I am impressed. This is the first time I've been wounded by another mage. But your overconfidence…" José tightened his grip on Ichigo's blade, causing blood to drip from his hand. "…has become your downfall. **Shade Entangle**." Before Ichigo had time to retreat, José summoned ghosts which circled itself around Ichigo's body and started to strangle him. Ichigo struggled to get lose but it only seemed to cause him pain. "It's no use. The more you struggle the tighter the grip on you will become."

Ichigo cried in pain as he continued to struggle to get free, ignoring José's word. In that moment Ichigo could only think of one thing that might help. He unleashed a huge wave of magic energy, disintegrating the spell around his body. Ichigo landed gracefully on the ground, panting heavily.

"What a daring move there." José said. "I did not expect you would have that much magic power in you. However, by unleashing that much magic must have really strained your body. You probably have a hard time fighting by now."

"Damn. I let my guard down. How pathetic. Everyone is probably glaring at me from heaven right now. Well, no use in bitching about it now." Ichigo said, taking a stand.

"Still willing to fight?" José asked. "I'm impressed. And glad to. This way I get to show everyone my overwhelming superiority. Your guild has always been an intolerable guild. And only a slight catalyst was needed to start a war. Like the request to bring back the daughter of Heartfilia."

"Heartfilia?" Ichigo asked. 'I see. Lucy is from the Heartfilia family.'

"The daughter of one of the wealthiest family in the country in Fairy Tail? How big must you people get before you're satisfied?!" José cried, firing another energy blast at Ichigo, who deflected it with his sword. "If you were to use Heartfilia's wealth freely you would no doubt become more powerful than us. That alone I cannot forgive!"

"It's pretty damn pathetic of you to get heated up about who's the best…" A new voice in the room rang. Ichigo's and José's attention turned to that voice, which belonged to none other than Titania. Erza was joining the battle. Next to her was Gray. "But what's really shocking is how terrible your information resources gathering are."

"Erza, Gray." Ichigo said, relieved to see his friends well.

"Glad to have you back, Ichigo." Erza said, giving her fellow S-Class mage a smile.

"You sure picked one hell of a time to rejoin us." Gray said.

"I was sure you toke a direct hit from our Jupiter Canon," José said. "I'm amazed to see that you can still stand."

Ignoring José's praising, Erza continued. "Didn't you know? Lucy ran away from home. Do you really think we could use her money? She lives in a 70000 jewel-rented house…she works her ass of everyday like the rest of us. She fights along with us, share her laughter and tears with us. She's one of the mages of our guild. A catalyst for war, you say? The daughter of Heartfilia, you say? Just like a flower cannot choose where to bloom, a child cannot choose her parents. WHAT WOULD A SCUM LIKE YOU KNOW ABOUT LUCY?!"

"I guess I'll find that out in time," José replied and fired an energy beam at Erza and Gray. Ichigo got in front of his guild mates and formed a Danku in front of them. "Did you really think I would just hand her over to her father? I'm going to keep her until they have no money left. The entire Heartfilia fortune will be mine!"

"You filth," Ichigo hissed. "You don't deserve your title as guild master!" He shouted.

"Gray," Erza said to the ice mage.

"Right. Let's do this," Both mages aimed their hands at Ichigo and fired their energy at him. Ichigo was caught off guard as his wounds started to heal and his magic was being restored. He looked behind him as his comrades fell to the ground from exhaustion.

"Guys, you…"

"Get him…Ichigo!" Erza cried before passing out.

"You shouldn't let your guard down," José hissed before firing another beam at Ichigo. He easily deflected that one. José was surprised at this new level of strength the Shinigami was demonstrating. Ichigo walked over to his friends and bent down in front of them.

"You guys gave me your last bit of magic to help me win this fight," He said with compassion. "I won't let your sacrifice go to waste." He turned his attention back to José and said. "I'll be back in a sec." And disappeared via Shunpo.

* * *

Back outside, Ichigo reappeared on the beach head where Mira and Elfman were.

"They've only past out from exhaustion. Look after them." He told the takeover siblings before disappearing again.

* * *

Ichigo appeared before José once more, ready to continue their fight.

"Impressive that you are able to cover so much ground so quickly. You Shinigamis truly are a nasty bunch." José complimented.

"My friends," Ichigo said, raising his left hand to his face. "You've all fought bravely trying to protect our home and given me the strength to fight." He started to concentrate magical matter on to his face and pulled his hand down in a ripping fashion, forming a white mask. Its appearance shocked José. The mask has the appearance of what could best be described as a menacing skull. The mask is white with two thick vertical black stripes, each on one half of the mask, which are interrupted by the widened eye-holes and the jaw. "Now I will fight to protect you guys. Take pride in being members of Fairy Tail!"

Ichigo's magic aura had changed from light blue to dark now. He fired what looked like a black Getsuga Tensho. The sky started to rumble and the land quakes as Ichigo's and José's magic clash. Ichigo lifted his left hand from the hilt of his sword to perform a Kido spell.

"Hado nr 73, **Soren Sokatsui**!" He cried, generating blue energy from his index and middle finger forming a concentrated blast. José countered the blast with his own spell. Both are injured and pushed back. José retaliates with another Dead Wave which Ichigo blocks with a black Getsuga Tensho. Ichigo clears the dust with his magic and stretches his arm out with the palm of his hand facing his opponent. "Hado nr 88, **Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho**!" He cries out and fires a gigantic beam of electrical and magical energy at José. The impact resulted with a huge explosion.

* * *

Back outside, Natsu, Lucy and Happy were feeling the tremendous pressure of Ichigo's fight with the Phantom Lord Guild master.

"Wha-what is this incredible magic?" Lucy asked, levitating above the destroyed Phantom Lord building with the help of Happy.

Natsu responded with a wide smirk, "It's Ichigo."

"Ichigo?" Lucy asked. "Who is that?"

"He is Fairy Tail's second strongest wizard." Happy replied with the same wide grin as Natsu's.

* * *

Ichigo stood before José, with left half his mask destroyed. Both were panting heavily and were covered in dirt and bruises.

"Impressive," José said. "I thought only Makarov could fight me evenly."

"You should stop this meaningless fight while you can," Ichigo advised José. "Laxus and Mystogan can both fight me evenly. And then there's Gildarts-ossan. His powers surpass even my own. Not to mention Makarov-ojisan who's stronger than him. Even if you kill me, you'd still have to face either of those monsters."

"Your pathetic attempt to scare me is amusing," José mocked Ichigo.

"I'm not trying to scare you. I'm trying to pound some sense into you. Even if you manage to rid yourself of Fairy Tail the magic council will not stay silent about this. You are at risk at losing your guild right now. Are you prepared to go to war with them? Because that's exactly what'll happen if you keep this up any longer." Ichigo said.

"Come now. I am acting within the law of Fiore. I am simply fulfilling a request given to me by a father who longs to see his precious daughter again." José calmly said, angering Ichigo.

"I see I can't reason with you," The Shinigami hissed. "Very well. You got until the count of three." José glared at Ichigo, preparing for anything. "Get down on yer knees and beg." Except that. Ichigo stuck his sword to floor, in front of him. "One…"

"I was wondering what bullshit you were spouting, but asking me to beg?" José laughed.

"Two…" Ichigo brings the palm of his hands close together and a sphere of light forms between them.

"You expect the number one guild in the country to yield before an insignificant brat like you? Cut the crap!" A furious José asked, forming more ghosts with his magic. "I am evenly matched with Makarov. No, compared to me, his powers are nothing."

"Three…"

"You're the ones who should be begging. I shall erase you, along with all the other useless fairy trashes, from existence."

"We're done talking," Ichigo states.

"It's time you all went straight to hell, Fairy Tail!" José cried, firing every last ounce of magic he had at Ichigo.

Ichigo brought his palms together and light sphere started to glow brighter and José's attack literally disintegrated before the light. José gasped at this new demonstration of power.

"Fairy Law, Invoke!" Ichigo said and the light turned even brighter.

Back outside, the light literally created a whole in the sky, covering the whole area in pure light. The other Fairy Tail members were covering their eyes from being blinded by the light. José's shades were starting to disappear.

"The shades are…"

"This light aint affecting any of us."

"It's a friendly light?"

"It's Fairy Law," All the mages turned their attention to the familiar voice and saw to their relief that it was their master. Alive and well.

"Master, you are okay."

"Fairy Law?"

"It is holy light that slays darkness. It attacks only what the caster views as an enemy. It is a super spell that should be considered legendary." Makarov explain. "I showed it to Ichigo just once. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe he would actually be able to master it after only seeing it that one time." The old guild master said with amazement. "Honestly, that boy just continues to amaze me."

As the light faded, Ichigo stood before a now blank and withered José, who had his hands in front of him, quivering in fear.

"Stronger than Makarov?" Ichigo asked as his mask fade away. "You're a wimp compared to him." He stated and pulled his sword out of the ground. "If you ever come near Fairy Tail ever again, I …slash that. We will eat you alive." He warned and turned his back on the defeated Phantom Lord Master. "You actions got the best of you. There's no way council will overlook this matter. You should look out for yourself for now. And so should I." Ichigo stated before leaving. However, all of a sudden, Aria appeared out of nowhere behind Ichigo.

'How sad,' He thought as he approached Ichigo, in an attempt to a sneak attack. 'He is full of openings. Just like the old man was. I've got him now.' But just as he was about to attack, Ichigo swung his sword back and fired a black Getsuga on the obese man, knocking him out.

"This war is over," Ichigo sternly stated. "If you keep this up I'll obliterate you into nothingness. Take your master and leave Magnolia. Never return." He said before vanishing via Shunpo.

Back on the beach, the other Fairy Tail members cheered.

"We won! We defeated Phantom!"

Gray, who was being supported by Elfman, and said through his weak smile, "He did. That son of a bitch actually did."

* * *

Elsewhere, a blonde haired man with a coat hanging loose from shoulder let out a huff and said, "So he's finally back."

* * *

Ichigo stood on top of Phantom Lord's destroyed building, burning away a Phantom Lord flag what in his way with his magic. He looked down upon his friends whom he hadn't seen in one year and said, "This victory is not mine alone. It is a victory to our family." The others cheered at Ichigo's words.

* * *

Back where Natsu was lying motionless, the pink haired dragon slayer formed a wide grin on his face. "It's good to have you back, Ichigo." He said.


	3. Ichigo and Mira

**A.N. And we're back. Before we start I'm gonna answer some questions.**

**Lttaco: Well here's a rank of the current strength of Fairy Tail in my FF.**

**Gildarts **

**Ichigo **

**Laxus**

**Mystogan**

**Erza **

**Hopes that helps, :) **

**Strykerhl: It was Laxus. Although I am considering adding Urahara in this story.**

**Nova Blitz: Read this next chapter to find out. As for other harem, well I am a fan of the many obvious couples in Fairy Tail. Nalu is my favorite so expect some of that. Also there will most likely be some Gruvia in this story.**

**ACSkywalker: I'm considering it. As for Zangetsu, well it is most likely that it will be a living weapon like it original is.**

**Guest: That's not a bad idea. I'm seriously gonna consider it.**

**Night sleeper: Well, I'll see how the story proceeds and then we'll see where we end up as we go.**

**Falcon: You know, that has always been a little vague to me. I never did pay much attention when reading the rules and guidelines. Maybe I should to avoid embarrassing moments in the future.**

* * *

Ichigo, who had returned to his Shikai state, was being praised by his fellow guild mates for his victory over José.

"Guys, guys, come on. I don't deserve all the credit. You've all played a huge part in this." Ichigo said, feeling embarrassed over the attention he was receiving.

"So that's Ichigo?" Lucy asked. She along with Happy had landed safely on the shore.

"Aye. That's the second strongest guy in Fairy Tail. But he is also one of the nicest guys there is." Happy replied, watching everyone celebrate. "Everyone seems cheerful, don't they Lucy?"

"Yeah…"

Happy toke note to the guilty look on the blonde's face.

"Lucy," He asked, concerned.

"Excuse me," Lucy and Happy turned their attention to Ichigo, who was approaching them. "You're Lucy, aren't ya?" He asked as he stood in front of her. The girl nodded. "You look like you've been through a lot. Sorry. If I had known what was going on I would have gotten here sooner and maybe I could have prevented a lot of suffering." Lucy looked at Ichigo with a surprise expression. She thought that all strong guys were power hungry meatheads, just like Laxus. Guess she shouldn't judge someone before knowing them.

"Ichigo, your hands!" A worried Cana cried. Ichigo looked at Cana before looking down at his hands and noticed that they were covered in burn marks.

"Guess this is the result of using Fairy Law," Ichigo commented. "It looks like I wasn't ready yet to use that spell."

"Ichigo," Said Shinigami turned his attention to the small guild master before him. A smile started to form on Ichigo's face as he was about to say something but Makarov cut him off. "So what you're saying is that you used a super spell without knowing whether or not you had fully mastered it?" He said. Ichigo blinked twice before letting out an "Um…" "DON'T UM ME YOU STUPID BRAT!" Makarov turned into a furious giant before Ichigo and screamed in a comical way. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! DON'T YOU REALISE YOU COULD HAVE LOST YOUR HANDS, NOT TO MENTION YOUR OWN LIFE IF YOU HADNT BEEN SO DAMN LUCKY!? DON'T YOU EVER USE THAT SPELL AGAIN UNTIL I SAY YOU'RE READY! UNDERSTAND?!"

Ichigo fell to the ground, waving his hands in front of his master and saying. "Alright! Alright! I won't. I swear."

Makarov returned to his normal size and said in a calmer tone, "That aside, I am glad to see you have finally returned." Makarov turned his back on Ichigo and said. "You should feel proud Ichigo. You defeated a wizard saint. That not a small accomplishment."

Ichigo sat up and said. "Not quite. José was stronger than me. It was all thanks to Erza's and Gray's interference. They gave me all their remaining magic which gave my powers quite a boost. If it weren't for that I probably would have lost."

"Even so, it is likely you will be taking José's place as wizard saint after the council removes him from his position." Makarov said.

"Me…a wizard saint?" Ichigo asked, and scratched the back of his head. "I'm afraid I'm too boorish for that."

"Ichigo!"

The orange haired man turned his attention to his right and saw a crying Mirajane running towards him. Ichigo gave to former S-Class mage a heartwarming smile. "Mira, I'm glad to see you're …" Ichigo was about to stand up but Mirajane rammed into him, forcing him back down, wrapped her arms around his neck and locked her lips with his. Ichigo was caught completely of guard as his eyes were wide open. But he eventually relaxed and closed his eyes, kissing her back, putting his right arm around her waist while his left was supporting both their weights. The others cheered for them while Lucy looked shocked beyond belief.

"Let's hear it for the reunited couple," Cana cheered.

"Ichigo, if you break her heart I'll break you!" Elfman warned.

"Lucky bastard," Macao and Wakaba cried comically

"What-what's going on here?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide like saucer.

"They lllllike each other," Happy replied.

"I can see that," Lucy replied.

Ichigo and Mira ignored their friends, not feeling embarrassed in the slightest. They broke the kiss from lack of oxygen and Mira buried her head in Ichigo's chest, sobbing. "Hey now, come on. There's no need to cry like that." Ichigo said, putting a comforting hand on Mira's head.

"I've really missed you," Mira said through her sobs.

"I've missed you too. Sorry it took so long. I ran into some … difficulties on the job and it took longer than I thought. Sorry I worried you so much." Ichigo apologized.

"I'm just glad you're finally back," Mira said, smiling and tightened her embrace on Ichigo. He felt so warm. She felt so safe when she was with him. They stayed like that for a moment until they heard a "ahem," coming from the crowed who were watching them. The two quickly let go of their embrace and turned their gaze away from each other, blushing like a tomato.

"Um…Happy, why won't you go fetch Natsu. He's probably still on Phantom Lord's building," Ichigo said, scratching the back of his head.

"Aye sir," Happy replied and flew away.

'How come the young'uns get all the girls?' Makarov thought. 'That aside, the fact that Ichigo could perform Fairy Law, even though he got wounded doing it, shows what remarkable talents that boy possesses. Looks like Porlyusica was correct. Geez, today's youth will continue to grow stronger. Face it Makarov. There's a whole new breed of mages coming.'

* * *

The sun was about to set when everyone had gathered in front of the guild building. Or at least what was left of it. Natsu had rejoined the others and Ichigo had bandages around his hands, courtesy to Mira.

"Hm…" master said. "Things sure are quite a mess. I was planning on renovating but this was a bit over board."

"Um…master…" Lucy approached Makarov.

"You look like you've seen better days, Lucy." The elder man said. Lucy expression was filled with guilt. She was about to say something when Ichigo cut her off.

"Don't be like that, Lucy-san. No one here's putting the blame on you." Lucy looked at the orange haired Shinigami with a surprised expression.

"He is right, Lu-chan." Lucy turned her head to the right and saw team Shadow Gear, along with Reedus, back on their feet. "Welcome home. You too, Ichigo." Levy winked at Lucy and Ichigo, the latter of who returned the friendly smile the bluenette was giving. "Everyone gave their best in this fight."

"Although, the guild was destroyed." Droy said.

"Well, no worries. We can always rebuild." Jet assured.

"You guys…" Lucy said but was cut off once more.

"I heard what happened. Don't worry. Like Ichigo said, no one's blaming you for all of this." Levy assured Lucy.

"But…but the guild was destroyed, you were all hurt because of me." Lucy insisted.

"Don't worry about it," Ichigo said. "The guild, and all the stuff in it, it can all be replaced. And our wounds will heal. Phantom Lord's defeat will last forever."

"But…"

"No more buts!" Ichigo spat, startling the blonde. His voice became calm and gentle as he spoke again. "It's like I said to Natsu before. I don't know anything about you, Lucy. There are probably a lot of things about you that neither of us knows about. What we do know is that you are a member of Fairy Tail. And that makes you a member of this family. I don't need any more reason than that. As long as you bare the mark of Fairy Tail I will stand by your side and I will fight. The same goes for everyone in this guild. We are all individuals. One family under the sun." Ichigo assured her with a heartwarming smile.

"He speaks the truth, Lucy." Makarov said. "Sad moments, happy moments …we cannot share them all. But whenever possible, we will shoulder it together. That is the true meaning of being a guild. An individual's happiness is everyone's happiness. An individual's anger is everyone's anger. And an individual's sadness is everyone's sadness. You have nothing to feel guilty about. You see Lucy… such is the true feelings in everyone's heart." Lucy tried to hold back the tears from Makarov's words of love. "Don't take Ichigo's words for granted. Raise your head. You are a member of this family. A member of Fairy Tail." Lucy couldn't keep it in any longer. She raised her head to the sky and started crying uncontrollably with tears of happiness. The others gave the crying girl a heartwarming smile as she fell to her knees and continued to cry. 'Although…' Makarov thought. 'This is likely to get the council steamed. The consequences for our actions will likely be severe. Maybe imprisonment is just …' With that in mind, Makarov started crying to, but for a whole nother reason.

* * *

One week later

"Everyone, break time." Mirajane cried happily to her fellow guild mates, who were rebuilding the guild. She was carrying a tray of mugs with beer to each of the working mages. But when she reached Ichigo she pulled the tray away from him. "Ahahah. You have to earn it first." She winked at him.

"Right," Ichigo sighed and got up and kissed her.

"Here ya go," Mira handed Ichigo a mug. Ichigo smiled at his girlfriend as she continued to serve the others.

"I don't care if it's too old to say it so …get a room you two!" Cana cried teasingly at Fairy Tail's most popular lovebirds.

"Cut us some slack, Cana." Ichigo said. "We haven't seen each other for a year. I mean after all, who wouldn't miss this?" He asked, referring to his entire self.

"You've developed quite an ego in the past one year." Cana said.

Ichigo smiled as he thought about what had happened after the incident with Phantom Lord.

_Flashback_

The council's army, Rune Knights, had apprehended Fairy Tail for interrogation.

"Everybody RUN!" Natsu had cried, followed by Happy. The knights had prevented Natsu's attempt to escape with their magic.

"It's not possible to run from the Rune Knights, Natsu." Mirajane said.

"So that's what you were crying about," Ichigo said to the still weeping Makarov.

_End of flashback_

They had interrogated Fairy Tail for a week before finally releasing them. The verdict would be decided by the council. Ichigo was not worried as much as the others. After all they had evidence and witnesses that Phantom had launched the attack. Ichigo sat on a bench, leaned his head back, looked into the sky and let out a sigh of relief.

"You sure seem relaxed, Ichigo." Wakaba said.

"Yeah. It feels nice to do some normal working when what we regularly do is slaughter monsters and putting our lives on the line." Ichigo said. "Working hard all day and enjoying a cold one in the afternoon sun." Ichigo said, taking a zip from his beer.

"That's the spirit Ichigo. Booze taste better after a hard day's work." Cana said.

"Only, I've never seen you do a hard day's work." Ichigo said, causing everyone nearby to laugh.

"ICHIGO!"

Ichigo let out a sigh. "Geez, here we go again."

"Come on and fight me! I owe you for that one time!"

Ichigo but his mug on the table, stood up, waited for the hyperactive pink haired dragon slayer to get close enough, then karate chopped him in the head.

"Some things never changes," Ichigo said.

"Oi, if you got time to fool around then get back to work!" Erza shouted at the half dead Natsu on the ground.

"He can't hear you," Ichigo said.

"The same goes to you," Erza spat at Ichigo, comically.

"Lighten up Erza. I'm on break." Ichigo said and received a menacing glare from the Titania. "Then again, the sooner we finish rebuilding the guild the better." He quickly added and ran back to work.

"Not even Ichigo dares challenge Erza's authorities," Macao said.

"That woman is scary," Wakaba said.

Natsu was back on his feats and tried carrying several logs at the same time. "Alright! Work! Work!" The logs collapsed on him.

"Fool," Gray said, carrying just one log on his shoulder. "Don't carry so many at a time."

"That's probably your limit, since you're so weak." Natsu mocked his rival.

"Huh. If I felt like I could carry twice as much as you!" Gray bragged. Moments later, he was really attempting to hog twice as much log as Natsu, but found it very difficult, as he was struggling to take just one step. "S-See…no…p-p-problem." Suddenly, the logs became that much lighter and they were lifted off his back. He looked to his right and saw it was Ichigo who had taken them of his load with just one hand. And it looked like he wasn't even struggling to hold them over his head.

"Fool," Ichigo said. "Only a brat gives into group pressure." He said and walked away with the logs.

"I don't know what the Gotei 13 fed that guy, but it couldn't have been natural." Gray said. Unknown to Gray, he was being watched by a woman with blue hair, tightly curled at the base.

"Chairman, where would you like these logs?" Ichigo asked Makarov, who was in giant size wearing construction worker uniform.

"Oh, put them over there!" Makarov voice echoed.

"They're way into this," Jet said.

"Who is he calling chairman?" Droy asked.

"If you two have the time to fight then use that time to work!" Erza shouted at Natsu and Gray, who were fighting again.

"Aye sir!" Natsu and Gray cried simultaneously.

"Still, don't you guys think we're going a little over board with this?" Wakaba asked.

"It's becoming way bigger than expected." Macao added.

"What's wrong with a little big?" Ichigo asked.

"True enough. This is a chance to enlarge it. Here's a drawing of what'll look like." Mira said with her usual cheery grin, holding up a piece of paper.

"The guild was fine the way it was." Natsu protested.

"Let's have a look," Gray said. Everyone took a good look at the drawing and it looked like…well it couldn't really be described.

"Um…"

"I can't really see what this is," Natsu said.

"I can't tell what's up or down on this thing." Ichigo said. "What kind of mental retard drew this crap?" Mirajane looked at her boyfriend with a wide smile before turning around sobbing. Ichigo panicked and nervously said. "Oh…it was you M-Mira?"

"That was just mean," The others said.

"What kind of guy makes his own girlfriend cry," Happy asked. Ichigo just hung his head in shame.

"Excuse me," The other turned their attention to a young handsome man with orange hair and light blue sunglasses. It was Loke. "Ichigo, it's good to see you again." He said with a smile. He held up a bunch of keys. "Could you guys help me return these to Lucy? They're hers."

"Loke, I was wondering where you'd disappeared to." Gray said.

"You've been searching for them all this time?" Natsu asked.

"Are you feeling alright? You don't look so good." Ichigo asked.

"Thanks. I'm fine." Loke assured Ichigo, keeping his smile.

"When you put these two together they look like cousins," Happy said.

"Geez…it sure is tough being a ladies' man." Loke sighed.

"Lucy's not here. Maybe her injuries are keeping her from moving." Happy said.

"Really? I could always heal her with my Kido." Ichigo said.

"We should go check on her. You should come to, Loke." Natsu said.

"No thanks. I'll pass. You know I can't handle Stellar Mages. See ya later." Loke waved them of and left.

"But Lucy is still Lucy." Natsu insisted.

"Let him be, Natsu." Ichigo said. "We all have our demons to content with. Don't push him."

As Loke walked away from the construction site he felt a pulse hitting him. He could hear his hear beat pounding. His breathing became harder and he started to sweat. "Must you be so hasty, Karen?"

* * *

"Lucy, are you feeling better." Happy and Natsu peeped through Lucy's window.

"Don't just barge in through the window like that," Gray said, coming out of the fireplace. (Does he think he's Santa Claus or something?)

"Use the front door instead," Erza said, making herself way to comfortable in someone else's house. Ichigo was right next to her.

"Even if she's a friend, is it really alright for us to barge in like this?" Ichigo asked, while sweat-dropping.

"Huh, that's funny. Lucy isn't here." Natsu said.

"Normally by now Lucy would be like 'THIS IS MY ROOM!'" Happy imitated Lucy, with a cardboard mask of Lucy's face on.

"Or…" Gray got a mental picture of himself, walking into Lucy's bathroom, catching her naked and then she would throw a shampoo bottle at his head screaming 'Gray! You pervert!' "Well, might as well get it over with." He said and walked towards the bathroom. "Sorry for the intrusion!"

"She aint in here either," Natsu, who was laying in the bath-tube, said.

"How'd you get in here so quickly?!" Gray shouted, comically.

"Maybe she's gone out," Erza said, with a towel wrapped around her torso and another wrapped around her hair.

"You guy's making yourselves way to much at home." Ichigo said. "Still, where could she be? She's not at the construction site and she aint here." He examined the room and saw piece of paper lying on the desk.

"Lucy, where are you?" Happy asked and accidently knocked a box over, thinking for some reason Lucy would be in that small thing, and out of the box came a number of letters.

"Oi, be careful when you're in someone else's house." Gray said and noticed the letters. "What're those?"

"Letters," Natsu said and started reading one. "Mama, I've finally joined the guild of my dream, Fairy Tail."

"Don't go reading someone else's letters!" Ichigo yield.

Ignoring Ichigo, Natsu continued. "Today I met a woman named Erza. She's cool and beautiful." Erza blushed at Lucy's kind words. "Then there's Natsu and Gray…"

"Are all of these to her mom?" Gray asked.

"Wonder why she hasn't sent them," Natsu said and read another one. "This one was written recently. Phantom had us cornered for a moment but the arrival of Fairy Tail's second strongest wizard turned the tide. Thanks to Ichigo we won against Phantom Lord. I was surprised at his strength. I had never seen anything like him before. But what was even more surprising was that it turns out he was Mira-san's boyfriend. She is so lucky. That guy is both kind and handsome." Now it was Ichigo's turn to blush.

"Good for you, Lucy." Erza said in an overly dramatic tone. "You have found someone you like. Mira has gotten herself a worthy love-rival."

"Oi, knock that out." Ichigo said, blushing even harder.

"She lllllikes you," Happy said.

Ichigo pushed the blue cat away and said, "We didn't come here to invade Lucy's privacy. We came looking for her."

"But she aint here," Natsu said.

"I know where she is," Ichigo replied. "This note was on her desk. It says she's gone home." The other's got an overly surprised look on their faces and shouted.

"SHE WHAT?!"

* * *

**A.N. If you've seen the anime or read the manga then I don't need to write what happens next from here so we'll just jump to the part where Natsu and co leaves the mansion with Lucy.**

* * *

Natsu and the others were leaving the Heartfilia estate, with Lucy, happy with the knowledge that Lucy only intended to make sure her father wouldn't attack Fairy Tail any longer.

"Sorry for worrying you guys. Maybe I should have left a more specific note." Lucy said.

"We shouldn't have jumped to conclusion." Erza assured.

"Don't worry us like that, Lucy." Happy whined.

"Happy cried they all the way here." Natsu said.

"Natsu was sobbing to," Happy said.

"Of course he was crying. We were ridding a train." Ichigo said.

"By the way, it's not like I don't mind the kind gesture but why did you come to?" Lucy asked the Shinigami.

"Because they insisted." Ichigo said, putting his hands behind his back and staring up into the sky. "Besides, I was already with them when they broke into your apartment and started digging through your stuff."

"WHAT!" Lucy cried comically.

"That aside, this town sure his huge." Gray said, admiring the many buildings surrounding them.

"The tranquility is simply remarkable," Erza commented.

"Yeah I must say this place put some of the noble houses back in Seireitei to shame." Ichigo said.

"Oh, this aint a town. We're still at our estate." Lucy said, smiling. "Our land stretches as far as all the way to the mountain over there." She explained, pointing at a mountain at the horizon. Gray and Natsu turned pale and speechless. "What?" Lucy asked. Suddenly both boys snapped and shouted.

"All hail Lady Lucy!" Gray cried.

"We are but maggots within her presence!" Natsu cried alongside his rival.

"Natsu and Gray are out of commission. Captain Erza and Captain Ichigo, what're your orders?" Happy cried while Gray and Natsu were dancing around like maniacs.

"The sky sure is blue…" Erza said, staring into the heavens.

"This is beyond my comprehension," Ichigo said and looked towards the setting sun. "The sunset sure is beautiful this time of year."

"Ah! Captain Erza and Captain Ichigo are out of commission!" Happy cried. Gray and Natsu continued to behave like a bunch of crazy people. Lucy looked at her friends and started laughing. She was so happy to have them in her life.

* * *

The next day, Mira announced that the request board was once again open. All the mages happily ran over to the board to take on jobs. Lucy and Ichigo were sitting at the bar with Mira.

"What's with them? Normally all they do is slack of and refuse to do jobs." Lucy said.

"Well, thanks to the payment from my recent job I am financially secured for a while so I'll take it easy for now." Ichigo said, leaning his back against the bar counter.

"By the way, has any of you seen Loke?" Lucy asked.

"My, my. It would seem that Lucy has finally fallen for Loke's charm." Mira teased.

"That's not it!" Lucy cried. "I heard he was the one who found my keys and I wanted to thank him properly." She explained.

"I see. Well, if we see him we'll be sure to thank him for you." Mira said.

"By the way, were your spirits angry at you for dropping them?" Ichigo asked.

Lucy started to quiver and nervously replied. "W-well it aint anything for them to get mad about." And then thought back to how Aquarius had punished Lucy by whipping her but. "My but still hurts from thinking of it." She said, holding her sore but.

"My, my." Mira said.

"Aquarius seems like the kind of girl who can hold a grudge." Ichigo said, sweat-dropping.

"Want me to cool it for you?" Gray offered.

"I don't need fake pity sexual harassment," Lucy replied.

"Lucy, let me see your bright red but." Happy said.

"And I don't need overt sexual harassment." Lucy spat, getting rather annoyed.

Natsu fired up his left hand and said. "Wonder what her facial expression will be like if I sting it some more."

"And you're just the devil!" Lucy comically cried.

Ichigo chuckled. "Looks like everybody wants to touch your but, Lucy," Right then, a barrel came flying at Ichigo's direction and shattered into pieces on impact with Ichigo's face. Ichigo blinked a few times, ignoring the blood that was streaming down from the wound on his forehead, and looked at where the barrel came from.

"I dare you to repeat that!" Erza shouted, glaring at the blonde man known to the guild as Laxus.

"Then this time I'll be blunt." The muscular man said, with an arrogant grin. "Weaklings don't deserve to be members of this guild." He turned his attention to the still injured Team Shadow Gear. "You guys sure are pathetic. Getting humiliated by Phantom in such a way. I don't even know your names." Jet, Droy and Levy looked away in shame. Laxus turned his attention towards Lucy. "Oh, and there we have the cause to all of this. Miss Stellar Spirit herself. It's because of you…"

"That's enough, Laxus." Ichigo interrupted, making his way towards the arrogant man. "The matter is closed. Nobody cares whose fault it is. And neither should you. Those are master's words."

Laxus stood up, maintaining his vicious grin and said "That has nothing to do with me. Although if I were around, you wouldn't be in such a pathetic state."

"Strong words coming from someone who wasn't here to help in his comrades. And do you wanna talk about pathetic? You should take a look at yourself. I heard you would only agree to help if Lucy agreed to be your girlfriend. It's amazing how low the mighty Laxus has fallen. That he would have to use bribery just to get a woman. You must be utterly desperate." Ichigo mocked. That seemed to have riled Laxus up quite a bit.

"The hell you say?" Laxus hissed as his body started to spark lightning.

Ichigo's body emitted a blue aura as he replied. "You heard me, punk?" the tension in the air was immense. It was like waiting for a volcano to explode. "Remember what happened last time? I'm stronger now than when I was back then. So come on. Make my day."

"Enough," Mira said, walking over to them. "You two can't fight here."

Annoyed at her, Laxus shouted. "Can it. A 'has been' should learn its place!" Laxus raised his hand towards Mira, who took a step back, worried of what Laxus was going to do. However, he never had a chance as Ichigo held his giant kitchen knife like sword to the scared faced wizzard's throat.

"I will kill you if you touch her," Ichigo warned Laxus. The malice in his voice said that he was serious. Ichigo was downright pist now. Mira was precious to Ichigo and he wouldn't forgive anybody who was stupid enough to so much as raise their hands against her.

"Well, what'd you know." Laxus said, grinning at Ichigo. "Guess you got some spunk after all." He said and turned into lightning and disappeared only to reappear a few feet away from Ichigo. "Rest assure, you and I will class eventually. And I'll pay you back for that last time. And once I inherit the guild I'm going rid it from all its weaklings. And everyone who dares oppose me. The strongest guild that ever were. One that no one would dare look down upon." He laughed and turned into lightning and disappeared.

Ichigo repositioned his sword on his back muttered. "Asshole," Before turning his attention back to Mira. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." The white haired mage assure Ichigo.

"Inherit? What kind of nonsense was he spouting?" Lucy asked in annoyance.

"It's not nonsense," Ichigo told Lucy. "You see, Laxus is Makarov-ojisan's grandson." This surprised Lucy somewhat. "So when the old coot retires it is highly likely Laxus will take over after him. And that is also why master refuse to retire."

"T-that can't be." A stunned Lucy said. "A man like that… guild master? I don't know if I could stand it."

"That bastard!" Natsu shouted, kicking a table over. "Ichigo, next time you should let me take care of him. I'll turn him into dragon barbeque!"

"It would sure be a barbeque if you two fought but it wouldn't be he who'd end up in the grill." Ichigo said.

"Well, let's not let that fool get us down." Erza said, trying to cheer everybody up. "What'd you say, Natsu. Wanna go on a quest. With Gray and Lucy of course." Gray and Lucy looked surprised at her statement.

"Gray, you're naked again." Ichigo sighed. Gray looked down and yelped when saw that he was down to just his boxers again.

"I've noticed a sense of camaraderie between us since the Eisenwald incident." Erza said.

"You noticed it just now?" Wakaba asked.

"What'd you say? Lets form a team." Erza suggested. "The four of us. Five if you count Happy." Gray and Natsu were surprised while Happy and Lucy liked the idea.

"But …is it okay for someone like me?" Lucy asked with low confidence.

"Don't talk like that," Natsu said and stood in front of Lucy. "It's because you're Lucy. Without you it feels like something is missing." He said, causing Lucy to feel better about the idea.

"Looks like Fairy Tail's strongest team is official now." Cana said.

'Strongest indeed,' Ichigo thought. 'Even the Raijinshu are put to shame against this group. No, Erza alone could probably beat those guys. But that's not what worries me. I don't know about Lucy, but those other three…this is more of a wrecking crew rather than an actual team.' Ichigo sweat-dropped some more thinking about all the destruction they will undoubtedly cause. 'Poor Master will lose what's left of his hair.'

"Working with this guy?" Gray and Natsu said, glaring daggers at each other. Erza shut them up.

"Got a problem with that?" Her voice boomed.

"No! Never happier!" They both cried comically.

"Then it's decided. This time we will be eliminating the Magic Brothers who lurks and operates in the vicinity of the town of Lupinus. Let's go!" Erza declared.

"Yeah!" The other four cheered.

* * *

Later that night, the master sitting on top of the halfway finished guild building, meditating over his conversation with his friend at the Magic Council.

"Master!" The bald man turned to his right and saw Ichigo walking over to him, with a smile on his face and two mugs of beer in his hands. "Welcome back from the council meeting. Drown your sorrows?" He offered one of the mugs to the guild master.

"Thanks my boy. You are lifesaver," Makarov said and gladly accepted the mug.

Ichigo took a seat next to his master and stared up into the night sky. "I've really missed this place. The night sky over there was totally different from the one here. Even the moon was different in some aspect." Makarov only nodded. "Not much for talk this evening, are we? What's on your mind?"

"Yam-bo suggested that I should retire," Makarov replied.

"Really," Ichigo said with concern. "Well, what'd you think yourself about that?"

Makarov put his index finger and thumb to his chin and thought a bit. "The guild is being built anew. So there should be a new master. It only seems appropriate."

"A lot of people will be heartbroken if it comes down to that." Ichigo said. "And I don't think there's anybody who could replace you."

"Still, I am old Ichigo. Maybe, it is time for me to step down." Makarov stated. "But you're right. It would be hard finding a replacement. Laxus attitude will surely bring about calamity to the guild. Mystogan's lack of communication would be troublesome. Erza is still too young and way too strict. And Gildarts is never around. So that leaves me with you."

Ichigo spat out his beer before staring at his master. "Me, guild master? When you told me I could become a wizard saint that was easier to imagine. But guild master…?"

"Why not?" Makarov asked. "You have leadership experience from your time as a captain of the Gotei 13. You love this guild just as much as anyone else. And it was you who saved the guild from José's hands. I can't think of any better candidate for the job."

"Yeah, but…"

"Master," Both men looked down to see Mirajane below them, holding some papers. "Looks like they've done it again." The two responded with a 'huh?' "Natsu and the others destroyed half a city while out on a quest. The council wants a written explanation from you by tomorrow." Ichigo eyes became wide as saucer and if Makarov's chin had the ability to hit the ground it would. The old master comically faded away to dust. "Huh? Master what's wrong?"

"LIKE HELL WILL I RETIRE!" The master shouted to the night sky.

Ichigo smiled and put his mug down before saying. "Have a good night master." And disappeared via Shunpo and reappeared next to his girlfriend. "Come on Mira. Let's go home."

"What'd I say?"

"Nothing Mira. You did absolutely nothing." Ichigo assured with a smile. Unavoidable

* * *

Over the next few days a lot happened. First Natsu and the others had gone and done a screen play for a request. There, Ichigo and the others learned that Erza had stage fright. The show nearly ended in another disaster with the team destroying the theater but surprisingly the audience loved it. Ichigo suspected that it may have had something to do with Lucy getting her clothes shredded and appearing before the audience in her birthday suit. Not long after that everyone learned a found out something completely unexpected. Ichigo was unsure about the details but as it turns out Loke was actually a Stellar Spirit and had now a contract with Lucy. Ichigo sighed. The world was just full of craziness.

"Ichigo," Said Shinigami turned to his left and saw a cheerful Mirajane walking towards him. He returned the smile and said.

"Hey Mira. What's up?"

"Did you hear that Natsu and the others went to Akane Resort on a vacation?" Mira asked.

"Yeah. Lucky bastards. I've heard it's the greatest vacation resort in Fiore." Ichigo replied.

"Well, I have an idea. I know a place that's just as good as Akane. You haven't had a time to relax since you got back. What with the reconstruction of the guild and everything. You have been a little tense." Mirajane wrapped her arms around Ichigo neck and got a little coy. "What'd you say the two of us head over there and try and get some tension out of our systems? Just the two of us … all alone." Mira said with a seductive tone. Ichigo swallowed and turned his head to the master.

"Ji-san, Mira and I are going to take a vacation. Be back in a few." He quickly said and picked up his woman, bridal style and vanished via Shunpo.

'How come he's so lucky?' Makarov sadly thought.

Unknown to Ichigo, a shadowy figure, holding a book, stood on top of a building near the construction site. "Well, looks like it's time we made our move." The man said. Ichigo could not have foreseen that he was about to receive an unexpected visit from the past.

* * *

**So there you have the third chapter. Sorry for the cheesy ending. Couldn't think of any better. Anyways, here some spoilers for the next chapter. I did promise lemon. Well, in the next chapter Ichigo and Mira is going to…let's just say all you sensitive fellahs out there shouldn't be reading the next chapter. Also, the Tower of Heaven arc will proceed as it did in the original story line. Ichigo will get his own arc starting in the next chapter. Until next time people. Don't forget to review.**


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